1964 Great Lakes constitutional crisis
triggered a call for his abdication.]] In 1964, a constitutional crisis in the Kingdom of the Great Lakes was ignited when the reigning monarch, Louis I announced his intention to marry his longtime mistress Jamie Louise Greenfield, a Sierran commoner and Canaanist. The union was opposed by the ruling National Party and most Prospectors. The Prime Minister, James St. Martin, attempted to remain neutral early in the controversy, but ultimately took an anti-Louis stance. The crisis ended in a People's Convention, in which a new monarch was directly elected by popular vote, the first and to date, only, such convention to be held since the formation of the monarchy in 1805. Richard II of Superior, Louis' younger brother, was elected King and was coronated six months later, following a lengthy appeal to the Supreme Court by Louis. The affair has been viewed as the culmination of years of reign under an unpopular King who "was overthrown by his own misactions which created a perfect scandal needed to justify his ousting". Background Louis I of Michigan was an unusual monarch from the beginning of his reign. He took an interest in the politics of the Great Lakes and openly made partisan statements, against the recommendation of his advisers. He was notorious for breaking long-established protocol and garnered a reputation as a womanizer. It was not uncommon for him to skip social gatherings in favor spending a night at his Mackinac Island retreat where he typically drank and gambled heavily. Richard Drufeyuss, son of the Lord of Superior at the time, described the King as "Very unkingly". Louis I met Sierran socialite Jamie Louise Greenfield in 1963 while on a fishing trip in Cancun. The King took an immediate liking to her and the two began a relationship which was kept out of the public's eye. The upper elites of the Great Lakes aristocracy, however, were keenly aware of their relationship and it became something of an open secret. Greenfield would often be seen with the King at private parties and would often tell other patrons that she was a "distant relative" of the King. Rumors as to why their relationship was being kept secret began to circulate among the Great Lake's nobles. One accusation lodged against her is that she was , another was that she was a swinger or polyamorous. The King became aware of these rumors and decided to publicly out his relationship with Greenfield in order to better acquaint his peers with her. Reception to Greenfield The elites of the Great Lakes were immediately suspicious of Greenfield, not only because of the previously secret nature of her relationship to the King, but because of her demeanor in general. Lord Lubin, 5th Lord of Superior, explains: "She can never look you in the eye. Her conversations are terse and she is always found clinging to His Majesty. Speaking as a man who has regrettable experiences with these sorts of women, I must say Ms. Greenfield fits the bill too well". Louis I dismissed doubts raised against his mistress and his refusal to listen to his family or advisers created large amounts of resentment for the King. Marriage proposal and opposition Frustrated by the lack of acceptance for Greenfield, Louis dramatically proposed to her on April 18, 1964 during a baseball game in Detroit which he, and other notable guests, attended. The event was widely denounced in the media as "Bombastic" and "Uncooth". Daily Peninsula referred to it as a "Royal Faux Pas". Members of Parliament also criticized the King. Vivian Moruney, a National and then one of only three female representatives in the House, stated in front of a joint session "We have a monarch who is stupidly in love with a foreign commoner. It is of my opinion this Parliament must do everything it can to protect our realm from the foolish actions of His Majesty." Partisan opposition was most vocal among Prospectors although more Nationals in total were against the union of the King and Greenfield. The Nationals reluctance to declare their opposition for the marriage stemmed from the fact that whenever Louis I became involved with Parliamentary politics, it was in favor of the Nationals. Although a few believed having the endorsement of the reigning monarch was an invaluable asset, the vast majority of the party refused to accept Greenfield as their potential new Queen and believed restoring the prestige of the monarchy was more important. Speaker of the House Thomas Kieger famously said "Protocol before politics". Opposition intensified when it was revealed Greenfield was a Canaanist, which was seen as in conflict with the Catholic monarchy. Until now, the Prime Minister, National James St. Martin, had opted to remain silent on the issue, only offering vague statements wishing for a peaceful end. However, after May 1964, pressure was mounting for him to choose a side so that Parliament may be more unified in its official stance on the controversy. St. Martin, in a much-anticipated statement, said "The King's actions as of late have been in complete violation of accepted convention. We cannot accept any more meddling in Parliamentary affairs by His Majesty, nor can we accept Ms. Greenfield as our Queen-consort, whose unknown past, and incompatible faith, leaves her unfit to share the throne". Calls for a convention By June, and with St Martin's statement, it became Parliament's mission to halt the marriage of the King and Greenfield, or at the very least, prevent her from becoming Queen-consort. Seeing as how Louis was refusing to reconsider his desire to marry Greenfield nor had any intention of abdicating, it was decided removing him from the Throne was the only suitable option. A People's Convention was proposed and endorsed by a petition signed by over 500 thousand people, calling for the election of a new monarch. The legal basis for such a convention was found in Article 3 of the Great Lakes Constitution which states: It was argued that a popular vote was a legal method of selecting the monarch, which defaults to male primogeniture otherwise. The King disagreed, arguing the provision does not explicitly allow popular elections for the monarch and that while Stephen was chosen by popular demand, so were his descendants. Essentially, it was the Crown's case that the first People's Convention held in 1809, by proxy, elected not only Stephen, but each successive monarch afterwards. A judicial inquiry was called by Parliament to examine the legality of a People's Convention. Over 150 constitutional lawyers were called to testify their opinion on the matter. The majority opinion was that a People's Convention was constitutionally allowed as nothing strictly forbade it in the constitution, which became the inquiry's conclusion. The Crown's appointed attorney Richard Aspen rejected this finding, arguing Parliament had intentionally called lawyers they knew would be supportive of a Convention. Aspen then appealed to the Supreme Court of the Great Lakes to resolve the matter. The Court agreed to hear the case which was named Aspen v. Parliament. ''Aspen v. Parliament'' Further information: Aspen v. Parliament The Supreme Court heard opening arguments on August 19, 1964. The Crown, represented by Richard Aspen, began by arguing that this whole affair was the result of Parliament attempting to block a union between man and woman out of "Some childish contempt for His Majesty". Aspen further argued that His Majesty's role as Sovereign of the Great Lakes was non-negotiable and asked the court to recognize Parliament's "Insubordination". Parliament, represented by Lewis Rome, argued that Louis I's actions had created contempt for himself and thus compelled the people of the Great Lakes to select a new monarch, a People's Convention being a legitimate method of doing so. Parliament noted to the court that the actual phrase "people's convention" is found in the Constitution, giving more weight to their case. Rome also argued that the Crown's case was a distraction from the real issue, which was not Louis I's proposed marriage to Greenfield, but if the monarch can be legally elected by popular vote. Closing arguments were heard on August 31, 1964 and the court released its opinion two weeks later. In a thirty-page report of its findings, the court ruled Louis I's actions as Sovereign had created "Reasonable contempt" for himself and that Parliament, in responding to the desires of the people, has the right to pass a law allowing an election to select a new monarch but only from the House of Dubois. Election organized Main article: Great Lakes People's Convention, 1965 In late-September 1964, following the Supreme Court's decision, a writ of election was issued by Prime Minister St. Martin officially calling for an election to choose a the next monarch, to be held no later than March the following year. It was agreed there was to be no official campaigning from any member of the House of Dubois. The final ballot listed over fourteen people but it was widely expected either the incumbent King or one of his brothers, Richard or George, would win. On January 10, 1965, with over 52% of the vote, Richard was elected King of the Great Lakes. Parliament certified the result that evening and formally swore their allegiance to him as the new king. It was reported Louis was bitterly disappointed at the result but wished his brother well. Richard was formally coronated as Richard II of Superior on June 6, 1965. Aftermath One of Richard II's first actions as King was to make his brother Lord of Thunder Bay. In an ironic twist of fate, Louis and Greenfield would not end up marrying as Greenfield was implicated and indicted on numerous charges of fraud and money laundering. Louis ended his relationship with her, angry and disgusted that his opponents during the entire controversy were proven right. This only sealed Louis' fate as a disgraced and humiliated king. Satire press in Michigan frequently called him 'the Royal Jeb'. After only a year of being made Lord of Thunder Bay, he renounced all his titles and left for Sierra where he lived the remainder of his life.